Pulsar · Taurus

Crab Pulsar

PSR B0531+21 · PSR J0534+2200

Its direction: above the horizon after darkHighest after dark 05:17 · south · 60°

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Where is Crab Pulsar?

Times for LondonChange city

Look south, about 60° up at 05:17 in Taurus. It rises at 21:31 and climbs through the night.

Rises: 21:31
Highest: 05:37
Sets: 13:46
Best after dark: 05:17 · 60°

Can I see Crab Pulsar?

No. A pulsar’s visible light is far too faint for the eye or an amateur telescope. What you can do is look toward it.

From London tonight, the direction of Crab Pulsar is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest just before dawn, around 05:17, in the south at 60°.

When is it highest?

Its part of the sky is highest in the evening, around 10 pm, in January.

It crosses the meridian, its highest point, at 05:37, 61° up, in daylight or twilight. Times for London.

What can you see in this direction?

Crab Pulsar lies in the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant of mag 8.4. That’s what you can look for.

Eyes

Direction only

Nothing visible.

Binoculars

Under dark skies, the Crab Nebula is a tiny, faint patch.

Telescope

The Crab Nebula is visible in small telescopes as a faint gray glow. The pulsar itself is around magnitude 16.5, beyond typical amateur telescopes, and its flashing is far too fast for the eye.

What you’re likely to see, not what a space telescope photographs.

About

The Crab Pulsar is a neutron star at the heart of the Crab Nebula, the remains of a star that exploded as a supernova seen from Earth in 1054.

It is only about 20 km across but holds more mass than the Sun, and it spins about 30 times per second. Beams of radiation sweep past Earth with every turn, so it appears to flash like a lighthouse. Its energy powers the glow of the surrounding nebula.

Discovered in 1968, it was one of the first pulsars to be linked with a supernova remnant and one of very few seen flashing in visible light.

The pulsar is gradually slowing down, and the energy it loses is enough to power the nebula, outshining the Sun many thousands of times over.

Its pulses are so regular and bright in X-rays that astronomers use it to calibrate space telescopes.

Visible nearby

Questions

Can I see the Crab Pulsar flash?

No. It flashes about 30 times per second, too fast for the eye, and is too faint for most amateur telescopes. Special high-speed cameras record it.

What is a pulsar?

A spinning neutron star that sweeps beams of radiation across space, like a lighthouse.

Where it isCrab Nebula Its constellationTaurus Another pulsarVela Pulsar 7° awayElnath GuideStargazing for beginners ToolMoon phase & visibility tool

Sources: SkyMate; star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences